Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Position in Atlantic Union Bankshares Co. $AUB

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Atlantic Union Bankshares Co. (NASDAQ:AUB) by 2.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 688,139 shares of the company’s stock after selling 18,280 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Atlantic Union Bankshares were worth $24,284,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AUB. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Atlantic Union Bankshares by 634.3% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 41,902 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,305,000 after buying an additional 36,196 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in Atlantic Union Bankshares by 4.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 53,232 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,658,000 after purchasing an additional 2,322 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Atlantic Union Bankshares by 36.0% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,137,072 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,548,000 after purchasing an additional 565,564 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Atlantic Union Bankshares during the first quarter worth about $3,011,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of Atlantic Union Bankshares by 9.7% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 249,378 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,766,000 after purchasing an additional 22,078 shares during the last quarter. 78.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AUB has been the subject of several research reports. Zacks Research upgraded Atlantic Union Bankshares from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Stephens boosted their price target on Atlantic Union Bankshares from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Atlantic Union Bankshares in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Raymond James Financial set a $45.00 target price on shares of Atlantic Union Bankshares in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Atlantic Union Bankshares from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.55.

Atlantic Union Bankshares Price Performance

NASDAQ:AUB opened at $41.77 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.24 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Atlantic Union Bankshares Co. has a 52 week low of $22.85 and a 52 week high of $42.18. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $37.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.12.

Atlantic Union Bankshares (NASDAQ:AUB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.11. Atlantic Union Bankshares had a return on equity of 8.50% and a net margin of 15.53%.The firm had revenue of $391.33 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $378.95 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.67 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Atlantic Union Bankshares Co. will post 3.26 EPS for the current year.

Atlantic Union Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be paid a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Atlantic Union Bankshares’s payout ratio is presently 72.55%.

Atlantic Union Bankshares Profile

Atlantic Union Bankshares, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, operating through its principal subsidiary Atlantic Union Bank. The company offers a full suite of commercial and consumer banking services to individuals, businesses and institutions across Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina and the District of Columbia. Leveraging a network of full-service branches, commercial lending offices and digital platforms, Atlantic Union Bankshares focuses on relationship-driven solutions tailored to its regional client base.

Atlantic Union’s product lineup includes traditional deposit accounts, such as checking, savings and money market accounts, along with certificates of deposit.